They never expected
by Autumn'sCherryBlossom
Summary: Previously called Revenge at last. After six long years, Sasuke finally returns to Konoha. How will everyone react? Most importantly how will Sakura react? So many questions.Sasusaku, slight Naruhina. please review! NO FLAMES!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns everything. Me own nothing. Don't sue me!**

**They Never Expected**

**Chapter one**

Nineteen-year-old Sakura Haruno sat alone on a bench. It was around midnight and she was the only person outside. It had been this time, this place, that seven years ago, her teammate and long time crush, Sasuke Uchiha had left Konoha to join Orochimaru. She would never forgive him for all that waiting, and hoping, and pain that he had caused them all. She would never forgive him for betraying the village and his friends. She would never forgive him for always ignoring her and acting like he was better than everyone else. She would especially never forgive him for hurting Naruto so badly all those times he tried to bring him back. _Revenge, _she thought. _That's no reason to treat the ones who care like they are nothing. How could he just leave, when so many people had become his friends?_ _He always thought I was so weak, worse than Naruto. Well I'm a Jounin now and I did it all by myself! No help from him or Naruto. I- _Sakura's thoughts were cut off by the sound of labored breathing.

She turned her head in the direction of the sound and discovered that someone was coming towards her. She pulled a kunai out of her pocket and said, "Who are you and what do you want?" The person raised their head and looked at her.

"S…S…Sakura?" a voice that she knew only too well murmured. Sakura dropped the kunai. It hit the ground with a clatter.

"S…Sasuke-kun?'' she stammered. The person nodded.

"How do I know you're not some imposter?" said Sakura. "It's been seven years; give me one reason to believe you,"

Sasuke sighed and said," I should have expected that. Well, I don't know what to say. Um… during the second stage of the chunin exam the password I chose was the Ninki- Ninja opportunity. We thrive in the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait until the enemy lo- argh!" Sasuke suddenly stopped and clutched his stomach.

"Sasuke-kun! What's wrong?" Sakura cried.

"Sakura you have to believe me…I'm sorry it took me so long to come back, but …" he broke off again and stepped into the glow of the street lamp. Sakura gasped. Sasuke was covered in blood and had several kunai and shuriken stuck in his body. His leg was twisted and looked broken. There were numerous gashes on his face and arms. When he tried to speak again, he coughed up blood.

"Orochimaru attacked me before I left," He managed to say. Sakura rushed forward to help him, but in her panic she couldn't quite place what jutsu would be most effective.

"Um…let's see it was… oh crap I can't remember!" she cried in desperation. Sasuke sighed and said,

"Look if you can't help me then I'll just-" He was cut off by Sakura.

"Hold still, this is going to hurt." She said. She began pulling the kunai and shuriken out of Sasuke's body.

Sasuke gave a slightly suppressed sound of pain as Sakura yanked each weapon out of his bruised and battered flesh. When all the weapons had been pulled out, Sakura did a bunch of hand signs and the blood flowing from Sasuke's wounds lessened then stopped. Sakura stumbled and sat down on the bench.

"I… I stopped the blood flowing out from the wounds, so you won't loose too much blood, but the rest takes too much Chakra. I'm sorry I couldn't do more," She said. Sasuke tried to thank her but he was too dizzy from loss of blood. Sakura stood and walked over to him.

"Sasuke-kun are you ok?" she asked. She could tell that Sasuke was desperately trying to stay conscious, but he didn't manage. Not even a minute later he fell forward and Sakura just barely managed to catch him.

_I have to get him to the hospital! _She thought. She half dragged half carried Sasuke to the bench. As she was dragging him, something heavy fell out of his pocket. Once Sakura had him settled on the bench, she went back and picked it up. It was Sasuke's Leaf village headband. She carried it over to the bench and gently put it on his forehead. After she finished tying it, she lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders. She began to drag Sasuke toward the hospital. _Geez, he's gotten heavy! How much did he eat when he was with Orochimaru? No, that's not the right question. It's probably all muscle. I'm never going to make at this rate, _She thought. It didn't help that Sasuke was at least half a foot taller than she was. As she dragged him through the village his headband fell off again. _What the hell is wrong with that stupid thing? _Sakura bent down to pick it up. Sasuke stirred slightly.

When Sakura touched the metal part of the headband, she realized that it was scorching hot. Alarmed, she put her hand on Sasuke's forehead. It was hotter than the metal. _Shit!! What did Orochimaru do to him! This is harder than I thought._ _Maybe if I got Kakashi or Naruto to help me…No if I waste too much time Sasuke-kun won't make it. But he's sooooooo heavy! There should be a limit to how much muscle one gains! I can do this. Just a little far- _Before she could even finish her thought Sasuke came around with a low groan and a muffled swear.

"What the he- Sakura? What happened?" he said, confusedly.

"Sasuke-kun, don't you remember? You're hurt and have a fever and I'm trying to get you to the hospi-''

"Sakura!" yelled a familiar voice.

A/N – Well that's the end of chapter one. Please don't be mad if it sucks!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two 

"Kakashi!" Sakura called out to the man in front of her. (A/N Hell Yeah! Kakashi is so awesome!!!!!) "It's Sasuke-kun, he's back!"

"Sasuke?" Kakashi repeated. Sakura nodded.

"But something happened to him. Can you help me get him to the hospital?" She said, hopefully. Kakashi shook his head.

"Sakura he betrayed the village," He said.

"I know that, and I'm just as mad as anyone else, but I don't want him to die! And if you're not going to help me than get out of the way," Sakura cried and continued dragging Sasuke, who had passed out again, to the hospital. Suddenly Sasuke felt a lot lighter. She glanced over at him and saw that Kakashi had grabbed hold of Sasuke's other arm. "W…what?" said Sakura.

"He may be a traitor, but we can't let a member of our team die, now can we?" said Kakashi, smiling. He winked at her and she smiled. Between them Sasuke let out a groan.

"It's ok Sasuke-kun, we're almost there," Sakura murmured, soothingly. A bead of sweat trickled down her face. Even with Kakashi helping, Sasuke was not a lightweight. Soon the hospital came into view. "He's going to be ok, isn't he, Kakashi?" said Sakura in a trembling voice.

"I don't know anything about his condition, Sakura. For all we know Orochimaru could have used a forbidden jutsu on him," Said Kakashi. Tears started rolling down Sakura's cheeks.

"He can't die," She said as they reached the hospital. They dragged Sasuke in to the emergency room. Luckily Tsunade was there.

"Tsunade-sama, Sasuke-kun's back!" Sakura called out. She was Tsunade's part time assistant at the hospital and when she wasn't gone on a mission, she often helped out. Tsunade turned. She gasped when she saw how beat up Sasuke was.

"Sakura haven't I taught you anything?" she said, sternly.

"Yes, I pulled out all the weapons that were stuck in his body and stopped the blood from flowing out. But I couldn't do the rest because I had a mission today and don't have much Chakra left," Sakura replied.

"Oh, well that makes it easier," Said Tsunade. "Do you have enough Chakra, to help me?" Sakura nodded.

"Uh… you don't seem to need me, so I'll just go wait in the waiting room," Said Kakashi. (A/N well yeah that's what waiting rooms are generally used for) Tsunade and Sakura nodded and Tsunade took Sasuke's arm from Kakashi. (No Sasuke's arm was not disconnected from his body, just in case you were wondering)

They dragged Sasuke to the operating room, careful not to hit his broken leg on anything. _I hope he'll be ok. Maybe I can forgive him. That is if he survives, _Sakura thought as they began closing up the gashes on Sasuke's face._ Oh, I hope he'll be ok._

**A/N- yes I know it's sort of short, but I'll try to update soon. Anyway, hope you liked chapter two. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As the hours dragged on, Sakura grew more and more exhausted. They had had to jump-start Sasuke's heart four or five times, but had managed to close up all the gashes. They were starting on the smaller cuts when Sakura suddenly stopped.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" asked Tsunade, also stopping.

"I think I'm almost out of Chakra," Said Sakura, faintly. She swayed and her exhausted green eyes finally closed.

Tsunade sighed and muttered, "Well, that was kind of expected." She scooped Sakura up off the floor and gently laid her on a nearby chair. Sakura was a mess. Her light pink hair, which had grown out and now almost touched her waist, was a tangled mess. Sasuke's blood was sprinkled all over her clothes, arms, legs, and even her face. Plus there were cuts and scrapes all over her, from her earlier mission. Tsunade decided to let her sleep. She could handle Sasuke alone.

Sakura slept through the rest of the night and next days. Tsunade had pushed two chairs together in Sasuke's hospital room for Sakura to sleep on. Sasuke hadn't woken up either. Although they had managed to patch up most of his wounds and his broken leg was healing pretty fast, he was still in bad shape. His fever was still very high and he had trouble breathing. If his fever didn't go down soon it was unlikely that he would survive. Naruto and Kakashi went in and out of the hospital room, visiting when they could. Naruto, of course was most concerned about Sakura. It was during one of his and Kakashi's visits that she finally woke up.

"Uh…"she moaned, as she opened her eyes. She got a brief glimpse of a hospital room and Sasuke's bed before her view was blocked by a yellow and orange blur.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" yelled her hyperactive teammate.

"N…Naruto?" said Sakura confusedly. "Where am I? What happened? Where's Sasuke-kun? Oh my god, Sasuke-kun! Is he all right?" Sakura bolted upright. "All I remember is running out of Chakra or something. I never finished healing Sasuke-kun's injuries. Is he de-''

"Whoa! Easy on the questions," Said Kakashi, holding up his hands to halt the flow of Sakura's questions. " First of all you're in Sasuke's hospital room. You've been here for the past three days; ever since the night you brought Sasuke here. When you and Tsunade were healing him, you almost ran out of Chakra and collapsed. Do you remember?" Sakura slowly nodded. " Tsunade finished up with Sasuke and thought you might like to be near Sasuke, so she let you stay in his room. Sasuke is in that bed,'' Kakashi pointed to Sasuke's bed. " But he isn't doing very well. His fever is still very high. Don't give me that look; I'm not even finished yet. Tsunade says that if it goes down even a little bit, he'll survive. It's complicated though because Orochimaru put a jutsu in him so that it will take an extremely long time to-''

"Why have I wasted so much time? Sleeping when Sasuke-kun needs me! I'm disgusted with myself!" Sakura interrupted. She jumped out of her makeshift bed and accidentally kicked Naruto, who was less than a foot away from her, in the face.

"Ow!" yelled Naruto. Sakura ignored him. She rushed over to Sasuke's bedside, just as Tsunade walked in.

"Oh, Sakura you're up. I was get-" "Why didn't you wake me up earlier? I was sleeping for three days straight while Sasuke-kun's been suffering! Why?" Sakura demanded.

"Hey, it's not my fault you fainted! You shouldn't have helped if you were so low on Chakra," Tsunade snapped.

"Well, he's my teammate I had to help. If you had lent me some of your Chakra it wouldn't have happened. Or you could have woken me up!" said Sakura.

"Do all women do this or just the ones I know?" muttered Kakashi. While Tsunade and Sakura were arguing, he slipped out unnoticed. The arguing was cut off by a small moan from Sasuke. Both of them turned their head in his direction. Just then a nurse rushed in.

"Tsunade! We need your help in the emergency room, immediately!" she said.

"Ok, I'll be right there," Said Tsunade as the nurse rushed out again. "Sakura, I'm leaving Sasuke in your care." Sakura nodded and Tsunade rushed out. Behind her Sasuke gave another moan of pain. Sakura turned and saw that the curse mark had been activated and was spreading all over Sasuke's body.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

"Oh, no, not again. What should I do?" Sakura panicked. Then she realized that if Kakashi had sealed it once he could seal it again. Sakura looked around and discovered that Kakashi was gone. She turned to Naruto who was just about to leave. "Naruto, get Kakashi, NOW!" She yelled. Naruto dashed out the door and Sakura could hear him thudding down the stairs. She turned to Sasuke.

He had opened his eyes and was sitting up. The wet cloth fell off his forehead with a dull splat. Sasuke turned his head in Sakura's direction and smiled evilly.

"Heh heh. All alone," He said.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as he advanced towards her, dragging his broken leg slightly. "Stop!" Sasuke ignored her pleas and pulled out a kunai. He flung it at her. Sakura pulled out her own kunai, to defend herself. It was no use; Sasuke's kunai had a paper bomb attached to it. CLING! Sasuke's kunai hit the metal part of Kakashi's glove.

"Kakas-," Sakura cried out, but the paper bomb fell off the kunai and exploded on her leg. Sakura let out a blood-curling shriek of pain. Kakashi turned to her.

"Sakura!" He exclaimed. Sakura's skin had been burned away to the bone. She was shaking, but tried to steady herself. She opened her mouth to speak, but puked all over the floor instead.

Moaning, She wiped vomit off her lips and turned to Sasuke. "I…I…I d…don't believe this. Y…you actually did it," She stammered. Sasuke looked at the blood on the floor, then at Sakura. The curse mark started to recede and he fell backward. His head collided with the metal bars on the bed.

"Ouch, that's got to hurt," Said Kakashi. He turned back to Sakura. "I've got to seal away the curse mark again, will you be ok if I go get Tsunade?" Sakura nodded and sank to the floor. Kakashi helped her up and carried her to the bed. "Stay here, I won't be long," He said. He scooped Sasuke off the floor and left the room. Sakura noticed Naruto standing frozen at the doorway. She turned to face him.

"Arigouto," She said. Naruto looked at the ground. Just then Tsunade ran back in. Sakura tried to sit up, not wanting to look weak in front of her mentor.

"Don't move," Tsunade ordered. She strode over to the bed and took a look at Sakura's leg. "Third degree burn," She murmured. "Sakura, how did this happen? Kakashi just said something ab-Sakura!" Sakura had thrown up all over the floor again. Her green eyes met Tsunade's brown ones.

"S…Sasuke-kun's curse mark was activated again," Sakura muttered. That was all she said before she finally passed out from pain. It wasn't much of an explanation, but it was enough. Tsunade turned to Naruto.

"Did you see what happened?" she asked. Naruto nodded.

"I came in right before Kakashi. Sasuke was up and his curse mark was activated. He threw a kunai with a paper bomb at Sakura-chan. She tried to defend herself, but you know it's hard with a paper bomb. Right before the kunai hit, Kakashi came in and blocked it. The paper bomb fell off and exploded on Sakura-chan's leg. She screamed and threw up and I guess that sorta shocked Sasuke, cause the curse mark receded and he fell backward. Kakashi helped Sakura-chan and then got Sasuke and went to get you," Naruto explained.

"She's lucky she didn't loose her leg," Tsunade murmured, looking at Sakura. "I guess she'll have to stay here, because the last few rooms were just taken."

She was just about to heal Sakura's burn when Kakashi came in, carrying Sasuke.

"Well, I just finished and the curse mark will never come back. Unless…" he said.

"You are really bad at curse sealing aren't you? I mean there's always an unless." Said Tsunade.

"Unless," said Kakashi, forcefully "he's around Orochimaru and he re-activates it." Tsunade then noticed that Sasuke didn't have a shirt on.

"Um… Kakashi, what happened to his shirt?" she asked. "Oh… that. Well you see… um… it's like this… one of my ninja dogs sort of ripped it to shreds and he doesn't have another one as far as I know," Kakashi explained. "And where do you want me to put him if Sakura's in his bed?" Tsunade looked over at Sakura then at Sasuke.

"Um…" she said. Just then Sakura woke up. She seemed dazed and confused as though she didn't remember anything. Naruto ran up to her and hugged her for no apparent reason. That jolted her memory.

"NARUTO!" she yelled and punched him. Tsunade and Kakashi laughed as Naruto went flying across the room.

"Why does she always make it hurt so bad?" Naruto mumbled. Sakura looked over at Tsunade and Kakashi.

"Kakashi, you're back already?" she said.

"Um… yeah. Is that a problem?" Kakashi replied.

Sakura shook her head and said; "I just didn't expect-," she stopped in mid sentence when she noticed Sasuke. "Um…" she said.

"Sakura, it was my ninja dog not me!" said Kakashi. "Right…" said Sakura, uncertainly. She never had trusted Kakashi's ninja dogs.

Suddenly and unexpectedly Sasuke coughed up a bunch of blood. Kakashi nearly dropped him in surprise. Sakura immediately went into action. "Put him on the bed, I can move," She said, getting up and limping over to the chairs she'd been sleeping on earlier. Kakashi looked as though he was about to say something, but instead he walked over and laid Sasuke out on the bed. He coughed up more blood and Sakura suddenly knew what was wrong.

A/N-

Sasuke: What's happening to me!?!?!?!?!?!?

Me: Mhahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Sasuke: you're so mean.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five**

"This is Orochimaru's jutsu," She said, narrowing her eyes angrily as she remembered.

Flashback _Sakura screamed as she was thrown backward by some invisible force. She knew that fighting Orochimaru was useless, but Naruto had insisted it was the only way to get Sasuke back. Currently, Naruto was somewhere nearby, locked in a fight with Sasuke again. He had told Sakura, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Neji to stay behind. Neji had been slashed on the arm; Kakashi was out from using his Sharingan too much, and Tsunade and Sakura were still trying to fight. Sakura struggled to her feet. She had to get to Naruto. Suddenly he came flying out of nowhere. _

"_NARUTO!" Sakura yelled. He turned to her. A flash of light hit him in the head, knocking him out. Sakura turned and saw that Orochimaru had hit him with some kind of jutsu. She turned to Tsunade and told her to get Kakashi and Neji and run. Tsunade nodded and sprinted off. Sakura lifted Naruto up by the arm and started dragging him away from the fight. Tsunade soon followed with the others._

_Back at their small camp, Sakura couldn't get Naruto to stop coughing up blood. "Tsunade, he's going to die from loss of blood if we can't get him to stop!" She panicked._ _Tsunade walked over and did a few hand signs. _

"_Sakura, do as I do, this is a strong jutsu and I don't have enough Chakra to do it alone," She instructed. Sakura did as she was told and soon Naruto stopped coughing up blood. They were both exhausted though and they still had to tend to Neji and Kakashi. _

"_Boys," Sakura muttered. "They're too stubborn for there own good."_

End Flashback "Tsunade, it's _that_ jutsu," Sakura said. Tsunade looked confused for a moment and then she realized what Sakura was talking about. She nodded and walked over to Sasuke's bed, which was now covered in blood.

"Orochimaru must have used the curse mark seal as a trigger for the jutsu," Sakura muttered.

"Which means…?" Naruto said, clueless.

"Baka as always," Said Sakura. "It means that Orochimaru knew we'd try and seal the curse mark again, so he did this jutsu to trigger another jutsu. Meaning that as soon as the curse mark was sealed, this jutsu would be activated." She gestured to Sasuke who had once again coughed up a great amount of blood.

"What Orochimaru forgot is that when we were kids, he showed it to the rest of the team in a battle. Furthermore, I found a way to stop it," Tsunade finished.

"You two sound so smart when you talk about things I don't understand," Said Naruto. Sakura realized that not a word of their explanation had penetrated his thick skull. She was about to beat the crap out of him, but then she remembered Sasuke. She limped back over to the bed.

"Ready?" she asked Tsunade. "Ready," Was her reply. Together they did the hand signs. Chakra flew from their hands and went into Sasuke's mouth. He seemed to struggle and choke for a moment, but after one last spurt of blood pushed it's way through his lips, he returned to his unconscious state. Sakura sank to the floor. She was exhausted. The jutsu they had used used up so much Chakra and it was hard on a person even one with good Chakra control. Tsunade reached down and pulled Sakura to her feet.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to heal that burn of yours tomorrow," She said.

Sakura smiled and said, "It's ok, I'm just glad that we could help Sasuke-kun," She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Sasuke's bed. "I'll watch him," She said, pushing some of Sasuke's hair off his sweaty forehead. He stirred, but didn't wake. Now they would have to wait.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

It had been two days since Sasuke's curse mark had been sealed and he still hadn't woken up. Not even for a short time. Sakura's burn had been healed easily by Tsunade, but she insisted on staying in Sasuke's room until he was awake and able to leave the hospital. Tsunade didn't argue, knowing how stubborn Sakura could be. At the moment, Naruto was on a mission, Kakashi was out seeing the Make-out paradise movie _again_ ("It's just such a beautiful movie."), Tsunade was helping out in the emergency room, and Sakura was of course tending to Sasuke.

To be honest it was getting boring. Sasuke's fever was gone, he was breathing normally, and his wounds were healing just fine. All he needed to do was wake-up! _If he doesn't wake-up soon, I think I'll go insane. _Sakura thought. She stared at Sasuke's unmoving figure for a minute then got up to go get lunch. That was practically the only time she left Sasuke's room. For meals. She had never been able to stand hospital food. She looked back at Sasuke one last time, then hurried out the door. Sakura decided that she would just go to the store instead of a restaurant. She bought a few rice balls and was about to leave when she ran into Kakashi.

"Yo!" he said.

"Is your perverted movie over already?" Sakura said.

"Yes, I was just on my way to see you and Sasuke," Kakashi replied.

"Don't bother, he's still not awake," Sakura muttered. "Tsunade says that he could wake up at any minute, but it's been two days since she said that and nothing has changed."

Kakashi hesitated for a minute, and then said, "If he doesn't wake up soon what will you do?" Sakura shrugged and shook her head.

"I honestly have no clue, but I promised myself that I won't leave until he at least wakes up," She said. "Which reminds me, I better get going. If he does wake-up soon I want to be there." She turned and ran out of the store with Kakashi's voice ringing in her head.

"_If he doesn't wake up soon what will you do?" _ It disturbed her that she didn't have an answer.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven**

When Sasuke woke up, he didn't have a clue where he was. All he remembered was fighting with Orochimaru. Was he alive? Had he been killed? And where in the world was he? Suddenly he remembered something else. A girl with pink hair trying to help him. Who was she? Then he remembered the same girl, only younger, trying to stop him from leaving Konoha. She had also been his teammate. The annoying one who had a crush on him. But what was her name? _Let's see, how can I not remember? Um…there was Kakashi, Naruto, and…? Sakura! That was her name! But did she make it? Am I alive?_

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly. He was in a small bed, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything else. There was a person at the end of his bed. _Who…? _Sasuke thought. _And where. And why. And what. The list of questions goes on! Ugh I hate being so clueless!!!!_

The person seemed to be sleeping, but it was too dark to tell for sure. Slowly, Sasuke sat up to get a better look. Darts of pain shot up his leg. He reached out to turn on a light or something, but couldn't find one. The person at the end of his bed stirred. Whoever it was sat up and stretched. Suddenly the light flickered on. The person was Sakura. She looked at him, blinked a few times then yelled,

"SASUKE-KUN!" She ran over and threw her arms around him. Her knee slammed into Sasuke's leg.

"Ow!" he cried "Sakura, that hurts!" Sakura backed off a bit.

"Sorry, it's just… Sasuke-kun you have no idea how worried I've been. Do you know how long you've been asleep?" she said. Sasuke shook his head.

"Well, two days since you woke up the first time, but you weren't really yourself so that doesn't count. Then three days before that is when you got here, so about five days!" said Sakura.

"But… what happened? Where is here?" asked Sasuke.

"You mean, you don't remember?" said Sakura. Sasuke shook his head. Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but Tsunade rushed in before she could explain.

"Sakura, what in the world is all the racket about? You-," Tsunade stopped talking when she realized why Sakura had made so much noise. "He's awake?" she questioned. Sakura nodded and smiled. Sasuke was still confused.

"Um… what the hell is going on?" he asked. Sakura turned to him.

"Well, um… where should I start?" She asked herself.

"How about the beginning," Said Sasuke, irritated.

"Ok… well you came back to Konoha, remember?" Sakura began. Sasuke nodded. "But you were all beat up, and I didn't have enough Chakra to heal you completely. So I pulled out all the weapons and stopped the blood from flowing out. But then you collapsed and I had to drag you to the hospital. Well, I ran into Kakashi and he helped. We got you to the emergency room and Tsunade and I started to heal you. But, I almost ran out of Chakra and…um; let's just say I was asleep for three days after that. When I woke up you were in bad condition and it took us a long time to get your fever down. That's pretty much it. You've been asleep since." Sasuke could tell that she was leaving something important out.

"Wait, you said that I was awake for awhile two days ago," He said. Sakura looked at Tsunade, then back to Sasuke.

"That's not really important, you were only awake for a few minutes and…" her voice drifted off as Sasuke gave her a cold glare. Now he was sure she was leaving something out. He noticed a strange mark on Sakura's leg.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to it.

"Just a scrape from one of my missions," Sakura replied in a would-be casual voice. She was definitely hiding something. Sakura always had been horrible at lying. Sasuke decided to drop it, knowing she'd give in and tell him one day. He glanced around and saw that two chairs had been pushed together at the end of his bed. He realized that Sakura must have slept there every night he'd been here.

_Wow, that girl is still obsessed. _ Still, it felt weird to know that he actually had people who cared about him. He looked up at Sakura. She was in deep conversation with Tsunade. He heard his name mentioned a few times, but didn't bother to eavesdrop. Soon Tsunade ended the conversation by saying that it was late and that they should go back to sleep. Sasuke watched as Tsunade left and Sakura went back over to her 'bed'. Sakura noticed his stare.

"What?" she asked. Sasuke just shook his head. "I bet you're hungry," Sakura continued. She bent down and picked up a package. "I bought these earlier, for when you woke up." She opened the package. Inside were a few rice balls and tomatoes. Sasuke picked up a rice ball and, realizing how hungry he was, shoved it in his mouth. Sakura laughed and sat down on the bed.

"So, how are Kakashi and Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, Naruto is well on his way to becoming Hokage and Kakashi is as perverted as ever. Yesterday he went and saw the movie of that book he's always reading. Naruto's on a mission, but I think he'll be back tomorrow," Sakura explained.

"What about you?" Sasuke said, quietly.

"Well, I'm a Jounin and when I'm not on missions I usually help out around here," Sakura said, gesturing to the room. "I want to know, Sasuke-kun are you going to stay here or will you go back to Orochimaru?"

"It's late, we should go to sleep," Was all Sasuke said. He could tell that the answer he had given did not satisfy Sakura, but she didn't press the subject. Instead she went over and flicked off the light.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun," She said, settling in to her 'bed'. After she'd turned the light out she thought she heard Sasuke whisper, "Goodnight, Sakura."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

When Sakura woke up, she didn't want to open her eyes. She'd just had the most wonderful dream. Sasuke had woken up! Then she remembered that it wasn't a dream. She opened her eyes and sat up. Sasuke was still asleep, but Sakura knew he'd wake up soon. Sure enough, it hadn't even been five minutes before Sasuke stirred and opened his eyes.

"Morning, Sasuke-kun," Said Sakura. "I was just about to go get breakfast, you want anything?" Sasuke yawned, seemingly still half asleep. He sat up and shook his head. Just as Sakura was about to leave, Kakashi and Naruto burst into the room.

"Good morning, Sakura!" they said, at the same time.

"We got you some breakfast, so you could stay and watch Sasuke," Naruto said, handing her a bagel. Sakura took it and said,

"You're back from your mission already?" Naruto nodded and grinned.

"It was easy," He bragged. Kakashi's uncovered eye scanned the room. It stopped at the bed.

"Sakura, why didn't you tell us Sasuke was awake?" he asked.

"Well, you didn't give me a chance to!" Snapped Sakura. Naruto's mouth dropped open.

" Sasuke-teme!" he yelled. "You're a baka, you know that right?"

"It creeps me out when you talk to yourself, and your name is Naruto, not Sasuke," Sasuke replied. Sakura sighed, knowing that this was the nicest reaction that could be expected from those two. It took a few minutes for Sasuke's insult to travel to Naruto's brain. When he finally realized what Sasuke was talking about, he all but exploded.

"SASUKE!" he yelled, running to the bed. Sakura jumped in between Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto skidded to a stop, not wanting to harm Sakura, and tripped. He fell forward and Sakura stepped out of the way. Naruto landed with a bang on the floor. He mumbled a few choice cuss words and something about Sasuke then slowly picked himself up off the floor.

"You're lucky Sakura-chan is here to protect you or I would have beaten the crap out of you," He said.

"NARUTO!" yelled Sakura. Naruto took a few steps back. Sasuke smirked. Some things never changed. Naruto suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Sasuke, Sakura-chan likes me better!" he said. He did a few hand signs behind his back that no one noticed. Sasuke looked from him to Sakura, who had her fist raised.

"What would give you that idea? Right now it looks like she'd like to rip out your guts," Said Sasuke.

"She went on a date with me once," Said Naruto, grinning. Sakura's eyes widened and she dropped her fist.

"See," Said Naruto. Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Why would I care?" he said.

"I know you do, you told -," Kakashi clamped Naruto's mouth shut.

"I think it's time to go," He said, dragging Naruto out. "It was nice to see you two." He stepped on Naruto's foot to make him stop struggling. It didn't quite work the way he wanted it to. Naruto started kicking around and it took Kakashi a long time to drag him out of sight.

Once they were gone, Sasuke burst out laughing. The noise startled Sakura. She'd never heard Sasuke laugh before. Once he settled down he muttered a few words like "Baka" and "Stupid as ever." Then he became serious again and asked, "Did you…uh…really… you know…date Naruto?" Sakura paused, unsure of how to answer.

"Yes, but it wasn't really a date, I made him pay for it," She finally said." And I only called it a date because it was the only way I could get him to listen to me." She was still slightly confused by Sasuke's actions. She'd never known him to burst out laughing for no reason and why would he care if she had dated Naruto? _Orochimaru must have really messed with his head, _She thought.

"Hey!" said Sasuke. Sakura looked up. "Has the hospital food gotten any better since the last time I was here?" he asked. Sakura shook her head.

"I can go grab you something if you want," She offered.

Sasuke smiled and said, "Ok."

Now Sakura was really freaked out. Sasuke was actually smiling and laughing! _Though_ _this is nice, it's not normal! _Inner Sakura flared up in her mind. _Maybe I'll have Tsunade look at him again. He is definitely not being himself, _She thought as she excited Sasuke's room.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called out. Tsunade turned to face her.

"What? Is something wrong?" she asked, seeing the concerned look on her former student's face.

"You could say that," Sakura mumbled. Tsunade raised her eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Sasuke-kun's acting really weird," Sakura started. "He's laughing and smiling and actually being somewhat nice." Tsunade frowned.

"Is that normal for him?" She asked. All she knew about Sasuke was that he had broken Sakura's heart by leaving the village and that he was arrogant and stubborn. Sakura shook her head.

"Before he never even acknowledged me," She said.

"I'll go check on him," Tsunade assured her.

"Thanks!" Sakura called as she hurried out of the hospital.

Tsunade walked slowly to Sasuke's room. When she opened the door, she saw Sasuke sitting on his bed with a stupid grin on his face. "Sakura says that you're acting weird, Uchiha," Tsunade informed him.

"Sakura-chan's so hot," Said Sasuke, grinning even more stupidly. Tsunade was surprised.

"What did you say?" she asked.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**A/N- now for the moment of truth….well more like the chapter of truth…dun dun dun…..**

"I said Sakura-chan's so hot. I really like her," Sasuke said.

"Are you ok?" Tsunade asked, now seriously alarmed.

Then she noticed video camera in the corner of the room silently recording everything. "So, Naruto did this," She said, smiling. "A prank worthy of the village's best prankster."

Flashback _It had been a week since Sasuke left the village and Sakura was a mess. She wasn't eating right or sleeping. Her eyes were usually red and puffy from crying, but when she was training she always worked hard. Naruto noticed this strange behavior and tried several times to cheer her up. For a while it seemed nothing worked. Kakashi and Tsunade were also concerned, but they left her alone knowing she'd brighten up soon. Tsunade was very surprised when one day Sakura came to training looking bright and cheerful. Tsunade just figured she was finally letting go and didn't bother her about it. But when Ino came by, to tease Sakura about her huge forehead and Sakura just laughed Tsunade knew something wasn't right. _

"_Ok Sakura what's going on?" she asked. Sakura smiled and said, _

"_Nothing, I just don't want to have a rival anymore. Ino-chan is one of my best friends." _

_Suddenly Naruto came out of his hiding place up in a tree. Well actually, he lost his balance and fell out of the tree. "Ow!" he yelled, and then noticed Tsunade staring at him. "Oh…hi, Tsunade-baa Chan," He said, a bit sheepishly. _

"_I suppose you have something to do with this," Said Tsunade, gesturing to Sakura who was laughing and talking with Ino. _

"_Heh…heh," Naruto laughed, nervously. "My new jutsu." Tsunade raised her eyebrow._

"_I think you should remove it, Sakura should be happy on her own," She said. _

"_Oh it'll wear off, but there's a little side effect. See the person ends up spilling a lot of their secrets," Naruto said, glancing anxiously at Sakura. The jutsu had worn off and Sakura turned to Naruto. _

"_NARUTO!" Naruto ran for his life the whole day with Sakura chasing behind him. _ End flashback

Tsunade turned back to Sasuke. She could tell that the jutsu was wearing off because he had stopped smiling. "Damn it Naruto!" he yelled. Just then Sakura walked in. Tsunade took down the video camera and hid it.

"Hi, Sakura!" she said.

Sakura walked up to her and whispered, "So did you find out what's wrong with him?"

Tsunade whispered back, "Do you remember a certain jutsu of Naruto's?" Sakura's eyes flashed with anger.

"What is his problem?!" she demanded. "First me, then Sasuke-kun, who's next?" Sasuke had figured out that Naruto had done something to him, but now he was confused.

"What jutsu are you talking about?" he asked, impatiently. (Tsk tsk Sasuke-kun must learn to be patient. Lol)

"Naruto invented this jutsu a while back. I think it just makes a person really cheerful, but I heard him tell Tsunade that there's a side effect. Something about the person spilling a lot of secrets," Said Sakura. "He used it on me once and that's how Ino-chan and I became good friends again."

Sasuke just nodded, mad at himself for falling for such a stupid trick. Then he remembered what he'd said about Sakura. _Where did that come from? _He wondered. Out loud he said, "Naruto isn't going to be laughing when I get my hands on him."

"Alright, just don't go overboard. I don't want to be attending any funerals," Said Sakura.

"If you did, it wouldn't be mine," muttered Sasuke. Sakura giggled slightly.

"I'm not so sure about that. Naruto'sgotten a lot stronger," She told Sasuke.

"Hmph," Was the only reply she got. While they were talking, Tsunade slipped out, unnoticed with the video camera clamped tightly in her hands.

A/N- So Naruto strikes again…sort of…. he sure is smart for someone who's such an idiot.(No offense to people who like Naruto) In the next chapter Sasuke and Sakura get their revenge. Mwhahahahahahahahaha!

**Chapter ten preview-**

"No freaking way!" yelled Naruto. "Why do-," All of the sudden a new image displayed itself on the screen. It was Naruto sitting alone in his apartment. He had a stupid grin on his face similar to the one Sasuke previously.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten **

**A/N-some Naruhina stuff in this chapter for those of you who are fans**

Tsunade met up with Naruto and Kakashi at their training grounds. "Hey Naruto!" she called. Naruto stopped trying to beat the crap out of Kakashi and turned to her.

"Oh hi Tsunade-baa chan," He said.

"Don't "oh hi" me. Sakura is not happy about your little stunt and Sasuke is ready to rip your guts out," Tsunade shouted.

Naruto grinned. "So did you get the tape?" he asked.

Tsunade sighed. "You're so annoying," She said. Naruto grinned wider. Tsunade sighed again.

"Yeah, I got it," She muttered, finally caving. She handed him the video camera.

"Kakashi, can we take a break to watch this?" Naruto called. Kakashi ran over eagerly.

"Do you think it worked?" he asked.

"Of course," Naruto snapped, impatient as ever. They went to Kakashi's apartment and plugged the video camera into his TV.

Sasuke's hospital room appeared on the screen. Sasuke himself was sitting on the bed, grinning in a very stupid un-Sasuke like way. Then every thing went staticy.

"Damn thing," Naruto mumbled, jumping off Kakashi's couch to fix it. Then suddenly things came into focus. There was Sasuke's hospital room only Sasuke wasn't alone. He was leaning heavily on Sakura's shoulder and they were somewhere near the corner where the video camera had been hidden.

"Naruto I know you're watching this and I'm pretty sure Kakashi's watching it too," Said Sakura. "You won't learn Sasuke-kun's secrets because they belong to him."

"Yeah, and we taped over it with something even more hilarious," Sasuke added.

"Enjoy!" they said together. The screen went black and for a minute Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto just stared at it.

"No freaking way!" yelled Naruto. "Why do-," All of the sudden a new image displayed itself on the screen. It was Naruto sitting alone in his apartment. He had a stupid grin on his face similar to the one Sasuke previously.

"I love Hinata so much. And I only pretend to like Sakura so Hinata won't know," The Naruto on the screen said. "I really wish I could tell her. Oh my Hinata-chan." And for the grand finale, he got up and tripped over his own foot. He landed on his face in…the trashcan (So clumsy).

Things went staticy again and then Sasuke and Sakura appeared on the screen in the same position as before. Sakura was crying from laughing too much and Sasuke had a satisfied smirk on his face.

Sakura composed herself and they said together, "Be careful how you use a jutsu, it might be used against you," With that Sakura started cracking up again and she fell to the ground, hysterically laughing. Since Sasuke was leaning on her, he fell as well.

"Sakura, that wasn't part of the plan!" he yelled, struggling to get up. He couldn't because his leg was still broken (I'm starting to think Sakura didn't heal it on purpose or something….). Sakura picked herself off the floor and helped Sasuke up.

"Oh and Naruto don't worry about this we already showed it to Hinata," She said. The screen went black and Naruto jumped to his feet.

"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled, in fury. He ran to the door and nearly broke it down trying to get out. "I'm gonna kill them!" he yelled, stomping down the road.

On his way to "kill" his former teammates, Naruto ran into Hinata.

"U…um…S…Sakura-Chan s…showed me the t…tape and t…told me about th…the jutsu," She stammered. Naruto's face went red.

"Oh about that…" he said. He broke off and his face turned even redder.

"W…was it t…tr…true?" Hinata asked. Naruto's face went so red; it matched the tomatoes Sasuke loved so much (Sasuke-hey leave me out of this!).

"M…maybe," Naruto said, stammering a little himself. "I guess there's only one way you'll find out because there's no way in hell I'll be able to tell you myself." He did a series of hand signs and a blast of Chakra knocked him to the ground. When he sat up he had a big stupid grin on his face.

"Of course it's true Hinata," He said. "I mean Hinata-_Chan_." Hinata blushed and helped Naruto off the ground. Little did they know they were being watched.

"That is soooooo sweet," Sakura squealed. She was standing by Sasuke, who was sitting on his bed. His bed happened to be located by the window.

"Yeah, so sweet it makes me want to puke." Sasuke muttered, turning away in disgust. Sakura turned away from the window and looked at him with her hands on her hips.

"I can arrange that," She said. She forced him to turn his face towards her and shoved something in his mouth. He gagged on it and vomited all over his bed.

"What the hell was that?!" he spat, wiping vomit off his lips.

"Oh, it was just some medicine and, had you actually swallowed it, it would have helped speed up your recovery," Sakura said, innocently. Sasuke groaned half from disgust half from annoyance. Sakura whipped the dirty sheets off his bed and looked at him expectantly.

"What?" he said, sounding as clueless as Naruto.

"Your shorts," Said Sakura pointedly. Sasuke looked down. His shorts were covered in vomit.

"You don't really expect me to take them off do you?" he said to Sakura. She nodded.

"You want to walk around smelling like shit?" she asked.

"I'll have to skip on the walking," Sasuke said, sarcastically gesturing to his broken leg.

"Just take them off," Sakura said. "_I _don't want you to smell like shit, since _I'm _the one taking care of you."

"I don't need someone to take care of me." Sasuke almost shouted. "Especially someone weak like _you_!"

Immediately he knew he'd gone to far. Sakura's eyes filled with tears. She dropped his dirty sheets on the ground and ran out of the room.

**A/N- so????? Like it? Hate it? Think I should stop talking? So do I. Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled. "I didn't mean it." His voice sounded pathetic even to him.

He tried to get up to go after her, but his leg seared with pain and all he ended up doing was falling flat on his face, off the bed. (LOL I had to…. ahhhh! gets pelted with tomatoes from the Sasuke fan club)

Tsunade, who had heard the yells, came running in. "What in the world is going on?" she thundered. Then she noticed Sasuke on the floor, struggling to get up. "What are you trying to do, Uchiha?" she demanded.

"What does it look like?" Sasuke snapped.

"Where's Sakura?" Tsunade asked looking around.

"Gone," Sasuke muttered. Tsunade helped him back onto his bed.

"What'd you do this time?" she asked, biting back a laugh. "And what's that smell?" Sasuke pointed to his shorts. Tsunade began laughing.

"Stop it!" Sasuke yelled. "It's Sakura's fault. Girls are just so annoying and they overreact." Tsunade gained control of herself slightly.

"I'm so sorry for my mistake about your gender, it's just I'd always thought "Sasuke" was a guy's name." With that she left Sasuke to take out his fury on the pillow.

Meanwhile Hinata and Naruto had just decided to start going out, when they saw Sakura run past with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I…I'll be right back," Naruto called to Hinata rushing off. Hinata gave him an uncertain smile before he turned forward again, narrowly missing a tree that was in his path.

Sakura also passed Kakashi, who was leaning against a random wall with his nose buried in his perverted book. He looked up just in time to see Naruto running by yelling,

"Sakura-chan, wait up!" With a sigh, he closed his book and chased after his former students.

He found them in an alleyway (A/N I don't know why, but I really like to put alleyways in my stories) not to far from where he just was. Sakura had her arm on the grimy wall, obviously using it for support. Naruto was standing in front of her attempting to provide words of comfort.

"He's a jerk Sakura," he was saying. "If he makes you cry, he's not worth it."

"You know that's true, but it never really helps much," Kakashi spoke up, startling them both.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried, running towards him. Kakashi was slightly taken aback. Sakura or anyone for that matter had called him "Kakashi-sensei" for years. He looked down and saw that Sakura had wrapped her arms around his chest. Even more surprised he hugged her back.

"What did he do?" He asked, gently when Sakura let go, leaving his shirt quite wet. Sakura looked in the other direction.

"This is going to sound so pathetic," She muttered. "He called me weak again. I've missed him so much and I thought now that's he's back maybe he'd have changed just a bit. But he still sees me as the weak little girl he left behind six years ago."

Kakashi glanced at Naruto. They both knew, and had known for a while, that though she was not at the very top, Sakura was far from weak. If anyone called her weak, she usually snapped and proceeded to give them a very painful piece of her mind. Then again, Sasuke was an entirely different story….

"You should have punched him through the wall, Sakura-chan," Naruto informed her. "Shown him some of your freakish strength. That would prove him wrong. Ooo, then you should use some Chakra and-"

"And loose the small job I have at the hospital?" Sakura snapped. Naruto shut his mouth. (Wow, it's a beepin' miracle)

Kakashi kneeled down slightly, so he was at Sakura's height. He forced her to turn and look him in the eye. "Sasuke has lived alone since the age of eight," he began, slowly. "My guess is that he is so used to fending for himself, that it scares him to suddenly have someone there caring for him. He hasn't known love for over a decade. Don't be so hard on him."

Sakura looked at the ground. "I just…" she said to the ground. "Overreacted a bit I guess. It is a bit odd to have him back you know."

Kakashi nodded and stood up. "Well I'm glad we got that all sorted out," he said, grinning behind his mask. "Now we should get back to what we were doing. Naruto, I believe you finally have a da-" Before he could finish teasing Naruto about finally realizing Hinata liked him, something sharp pricked him at the neck. He tumbled forward unsteadily, his vision blurring.

"Kaka-" Naruto was also hit with something in the same area as his former sensei. He swayed a bit, trying to stay conscious.

Sakura watched them, unsure of what to do. _You a Medic Nin, you've got to do something!_ Inner Sakura screamed desperately. (A/N Inner Sakura is also awesome.) Before Sakura could comply to her inner self's request, she felt a sharp sting at her neck. Prior to the world going completely black, she saw a figure stepping out of a corner. Blood red met emerald green, before everything dissolved into nothingness.

**A/N- ooooh, a cliffhanger…any guesses on who the mystery person is? I'll update ASAP**

**-Sandgirl **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Sasuke knew something was wrong. He felt it in the air. That familiar strong Chakra. His eyes narrowed as he realized the source. Itachi. What the hell was he doing here? Sasuke rolled over to face the window.

He watched as kids played hopscotch and other childish games as if they hadn't a care in the world. Then he thought about what had happened a few days ago. Sakura. That just about summed it up. _She took care of me; waited in this room for five days just to make sure I'd be all right when I woke up and I treated her like she was worthless, _he thought.

He hadn't seen her since his outburst. In fact, no one had visited his room besides a few nurses and Ino, who was no longer a loyal fan girl, (she'd hooked up with her teammate Chouji) but was still quite annoying.

Although the fact that he hadn't seen his ex-team for the last few days was odd, Sasuke was far from worried. Or at least pretending to be far from worried.

Sasuke turned at the sound of the door creaking open. It was Tsunade; bring him some smelly hospital food. Even though Sasuke knew Tsunade wasn't exactly his biggest fan, it was nice to see someone other than the nurses who knew nothing about him. Maybe he could finally get some information.

"Have you seen Sakura?" he asked as Tsunade set down his tray on the night table by his bed. His question was ignored. "Where's Sakura?" Sasuke demanded. Tsunade again said nothing. "Dammit!" Sasuke yelled. If he had a kunai he would have stabbed something.

"Sakura's gone," Tsunade said. "She has better things to do than sit around and listen to you insult her and treat her as if she's still twelve you know."

Sasuke calmed down slightly. "When am I going to be released?" he asked, changing the subject.

"When your injuries heal," Tsunade replied, shortly.

"When will that be?" Sasuke said, through clenched teeth.

Tsunade shrugged. Up close Sasuke noticed her eyes were bloodshot and her eyelids were drooping as if she hadn't gotten much sleep or had been crying a lot.

A horrible realization struck Sasuke. "Sakura's missing isn't she?" he said.

Tsunade looked taken aback. "Of course not," she responded, after a long pause. "Why would you ask such a question?"

"Tell the truth!" Sasuke snapped, loudly and impatiently.

Tsunade lowered her eyes. She sank into a chair nearby and buried her face in her hands. "Yes she is," She muttered to her hands rather than Sasuke. "Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto are also missing. We believe it was kidnap Not that you would care or anything."

Sasuke himself became very interested in his hands, one of which had a large bandage covering it. "How long?" He inquired, quietly.

"Since three days ago," Tsunade answered, still talking to her hands. When she finally did raise her head at the sound of movement, a few minutes later, she was surprised to see Sasuke stumbling out of his bed.

His eyes had turned Sharingan out of anger and he had a determined glint in them. "I'm going to find them," he growled.

"They might already be dead!" Tsunade cried. "We don't want to loose you too, traitor or not. Just let the ANBU handle it."

"I may not know who has them," Sasuke replied calmly. "But neither do the ANBU. So why is it any different if I go? It might even be better, since I know them from my former days in Konoha."

"Look in the mirror," Tsunade nearly shrieked. "You can't even walk properly. How do you expect to find them, let alone fight the one who has them?"

"I have my ways."

"I don't trust you!" Tsunade continued, furiously. "How do I know you're not part of this? This could be a plot to destroy Konoha! You've been gone for six years. _SIX FUCKIN' YEARS, UCHIHA! _And now you just show up out of nowhere. Did you really expect the village to welcome you back with open arms?"

"That's none of your business!" Sasuke snapped. He hobbled (yes THE Sasuke Uchiha hobbled) over to the wardrobe where his clothes were located. He was surprised Tsunade didn't try to stop him.

As Sasuke looked into the narrow closet like space, he noticed that someone had bought him a new blue shirt and had the Uchiha crest printed on it, probably at some store. He also noticed that someone had also got him some brand new gray shorts. He smiled faintly. _Sakura._ He silently thanked her in his mind, grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Once inside, he locked the door and began to change out of the ugly thing the hospital had put on him after he'd taken off his mucky shorts. It was so hideous that he couldn't even tell what it was. When he was finally done (it took a while to get the ugly…._ thing_ off.) he raised his head to look in the mirror.

What he saw surprised him, but not by much. There was a huge crack in the glass, with smaller cracks spreading out in all directions. The crack was obviously made by a kunai, which Sasuke discovered, was stabbed into the center of the glass. It was holding up a Konoha headband.

Upon closer inspection, found the headband had flecks of blood splattered all over it and a few strands of hair still clinging to the edges. The hair was long and as pink as a cherry blossom in the spring. _Wait…Cherry Blossoms! Sakura!_

Also on the mirror, Sasuke noted through his panic, was a message spelled out in Sakura's hair and taped on with blood. 'The cherry blossom is wilting quickly. Better hurry before it falls from the tree…' At the end there was a long trail of red substance running down the mirror and dripping onto the counter.

Sasuke took the headband down with shaking hands. Using the kunai, he ripped off the bandage on his left arm and re-opened part of the long cut that extended form his shoulder to his wrist. "I swear by my blood I will bring back Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura. Whoever did this to them is as good as dead," he said, his voice colder than ice. His blood dripped onto the silver part of Sakura's headband covering the Konoha symbol almost entirely.

As he was about to leave the bathroom, he realized who had his teammates. _Yes,_ he thought. _That makes perfect sense. I'll have to hurry if I want them back alive. He won't give them a chance. _His anger nearly consumed him. Just thinking about that man made him feel sick.

Furiously, Sasuke threw the door open. Ignoring the bewildered Tsunade, he raised the kunai that was still tightly clamped in his hand. Blood poured from his other arm and soaked the carpet, but he didn't pay any mind to that either. With all his might, he hurled the kunai at the window. It shattered. Tsunade screamed as Sasuke jumped through. She rushed to peer down at the ground, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

**A/N- yes I know kind of a long chapter and a bit rushed, but this is where the action begins! A few more chapters and it will be the showdown of the Uchihas! And yes the 'mystery person' was Itachi. I think I made that a bit obvious…but anyway here I go again with the rambling! Review and tell me what you think! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

"I don't care how you do it!" A very angry Tsunade yelled at a team of ANBU. "Just find them and bring them back alive! All of them!"

One very tall and pretty stupid ANBU stepped forward slightly. "What about Uchiha?" he asked. Big mistake.

Tsunade swung around and punched him straight through the wall. "When I say all of them, what do you think I mean?!" She shouted, even though the ANBU was already out cold. "

"Any more questions," she asked, calmly turning to the other ANBU who were shaking slightly and looking very eager to leave. They shook their heads and at Tsunade's signal, quickly departed.

As soon as they were gone, Tsunade sank into a chair behind her desk. Her head went straight into her hands and she almost spilled the coffee that had sat on her desk for two days. It had been two days since Sasuke had left and five days since Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto had disappeared. Tsunade had sent multiple teams of Shinobi to find them, but there were no results. Suddenly someone rapped at the door.

Tsunade lifted her head and muttered, "Come in."

Shizune walked in, holding a steaming cup of coffee. "Tsunade-sama?" she said, cautiously.

Tsunade forced a smile. "Yes, Shizune?" She replied.

"I brought you some coffee," her apprentice said, trying to be cheerful.

"Just set it on my desk."

"Hai!"

There was a long silence. Eventually Shizune realized Tsunade wasn't in a talking mood. With a few words of comfort she exited the room, leaving her sensei to her thoughts.

As soon as Shizune had gone Tsunade stood and opened the window blinds. It was gray and rainy outside in Konoha and she could see that no one was out in a day like this.

Without a warning, Tsunade whirled around and slammed her fist into the wall. It was so maddening that one of the best teams in Konoha had disappeared without a trace so suddenly. Everyone was so worried now. Ino, Tenten, and Lee had come to her office on several occasions, mad and upset, demanding that she try harder to get Sakura back. Kiba, Lee, Shikamaru, Neji, and even Gaara had barged into her office twice, furious that Naruto had gone missing. Gai and Kurenai had taken the matter in a more adult like way, but were still quite startled at the disappearance of their colleague. Even shy, quiet Hinata had come to plead that she bring back her beloved now-boyfriend Naruto and her close friend Sakura. Tsunade had considered picking a successor to listen to everyone's complaints.

Everyone looked up to the leader of the village to fix everything, but what was Tsunade supposed to do when she couldn't find a solution?

**A/N- wow….i really don't have much to say about this chapter….it's a little off from the story, I know, but I just wanted to sort of show how things were going in Konoha before I start anything with Sasuke and Itachi. Hope you liked!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen **

Two days previously….

Sasuke charged through the forest, pushing stray branches and other plants aside. He knew _he _had a hideout somewhere deep in this forest, but he wasn't sure if he and his assistant would be there. Most of the time they were out on assassination missions. Sasuke would just have to pray _he_ was there.

It was nightfall by the time an old decrepit building came into view. Trees mostly hid it from the outside world and ivy was growing all the walls. Long cracks spread the length of the building. To sum it up, it looked like it was a race between the cracks and plants to see which could break the structure first.

Sasuke made his stealthily in, undetected. If the outside looked bad, the inside was worse. Pipes were sticking out at odd angles and water was dripping off the ends. Blood was smeared onto the crumbling walls. The place was not as…sanitary as it used to be.

Sasuke stared at the room in awe until he heard a high-pitched scream echo through the still lifeless silence. He ran toward the sound as fast as he could, fearing the worst. Every now and then he would bump into something in the darkness or slow as his leg seared, but that only made him want to get there faster.

Finally he stumbled onto a dimly lit room. There were chains all over the walls and some even hung from the ceiling. The former occupants of the chains dangled limply on them. Sasuke felt sick just looking at them. The dark stains on the walls, he decided, were bloodstains from the skeletons in the chains. He hoped none of the blood was fresh…

Before Sasuke had the chance to investigate the place further, he heard the cry again. It was definitely closer now. As he sped up slightly, it became coherent words.

"I won't! You know I won't you evil slimy sick twisted bas-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" it spoke. Sasuke figured by the high-pitched tone that the person speaking was a female. And it sounded like she was in deep shit.

"Stop!" another voice, this time male, yelled.

There was more screaming, and then the female spoke again. "I'll…. never…tell you…where…. he is…. torture me…all you want…. I won't…give…. in," she choked out, breathlessly.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that, I already know where he is. In fact, I had my friend him a little visit. He's left Konoha by now. Actually, I think he's here listening to every word we speak," a voice dripping with malice explained. "Now don't look at me like that. I might actually let you go if things go as planned. No need to worry."

This voice Sasuke recognized. His fists clenched, but before he could even begin to ponder where these voices were coming from the screaming started again.

"Sakura-chan!" the male voice yelled.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes that had turned blood red Sharingan out of anger. His teammates were here somewhere. And Sakura was being torturing. For some reason this made Sasuke even madder. He had an urge to scream (or yell, can't really see Sasuke screaming).

What came out of his mouth was something that sounded like, "Goteammateslet."

The screaming stopped and the room became eerily quiet.

"Sasuke-teme?" the male, whom Sasuke now knew as Naruto, questioned. "Where are you?"

Sasuke was too furious to answer.

"Sa…. Sasuke-kun?" Sakura gasped out. There was a vomiting noise followed by a sickening SPLAT!

Sasuke flinched. _That does not sound good,_ he thought to himself. Though he never would have admitted it out loud, he was becoming quite concerned. On the other hand he was madder than hell and wanted to kill something…or someone.

"Quit hiding!" he yelled. "Come fight me! Man to man**!" **

A wall on his right opened to reveal…

A/N- Mwhahahahaha! A cliffhanger!!!! Well not really, I guess I made it kind of obvious who has them, but pretend you don't know or it will spoil my fun!!! LOL!!!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

The wall opened to reveal a secret room in which was the man who had haunted Sasuke's dreams since he was eight. _Uchiha Itachi_.

Hanging on rusty chains behind Itachi, were the very bloodied members of Sasuke's former team; Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, and Haruno Sakura. Naruto was sporting a bloody nose and many purple/green bruises, but seemed alert and wary. Kakashi was unconscious, with his head resting on his chest. He was quite lifeless, but it was impossible to tell the full extent of his injuries. Sakura was soaked in blood, obviously tormented the most. Her face was so bruised that one eye was forced shut. The way she hung suggested damaged ribs and possibly broken limbs.

Sasuke felt rage pass through him, ripping at his mind and heart. Itachi turned to him. "Now…now Sasuke-_chan_ there's no need to be so angry. I have no desire to fight you. I'm merely passing you on to a…. friend of mine. It's sort of a peace offering. You remember Orochimaru don't you?" Itachi asked. Sasuke glared. "He's quite mad that you departed and he… unfortunately thinks it's Akatsuki's fault seeing as I'm your brother. If I get you back to him, unnecessary conflict will be avoided. You understand right?"

"So you kidnapped these ninja as bait to lure me here?" Sasuke spat, disgusted. It was an ingenious plan and he had been stupid to fall for such an obvious trap. Why hadn't he just stayed behind? Now all he'd done was endanger Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura more. If he got handed over to Orochimaru, what would happen to them?

Hmph, it'd been easier not to care at all. Where were all these emotions come from so suddenly? Sasuke thought he'd rid himself of the troublesome things years ago.

Slowly, he stepped forward. "I'll make you a deal," he said, emotionlessly. "We'll fight. If I win, you let me, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura go back to Konoha undisturbed. They're not part of this anyway. If you win, I'll go to Orochimaru without a struggle and convince him to hold back on attacking Akatsuki."

"You don't seem to have gotten any stronger little brother," Itachi said, showing a smirk almost identical to the one Sasuke usually wore. " but I'll fight you. Maybe you'll even prove me wrong."

Sasuke only muttered in a monotone, "We fight until one is unable to continue." He turned to the secret room. "Hang on," he mouthed to Sakura.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Itachi sneered. "How sweet."

Sasuke said nothing and quickly activated his Sharingan. Itachi made no move to attack. Sasuke, on the other hand, charged forward, blinded by his fury. The two were soon caught up in a taijutsu fight. Well it was more like Sasuke trying to hit, kick, and punch Itachi while he just dodged.

Finally Sasuke stopped. He jumped back slightly and simply stood there. Neither him nor his brother had so much as a scratch. (Well ok, Sasuke had his scars from his fight with Orochimaru, but that doesn't count)

"Guess it's my turn," Itachi said, in a bored I've-done-this-a-million-times tone. He came forward and began beating Sasuke so harshly that even Sakura and Naruto winced. Sasuke himself kept his teeth clenched, refusing to cry out even as Itachi struck a blow to his injured leg.

"ENOUGH!" he screamed at last, spraying blood all over the hard concrete ground as he raised his arm to stop Itachi's attack. He pushed his brother's fist away from his face, swearing at him in a furious yell that echoed through the still walls like a battle cry.

The pressure his brother was putting on his fist distracted Itachi. Sasuke took this as an opportunity to nail a kick to his…um…well…._ sensitive_ spot.

Itachi made a strange noise half way between a squeal and a groan. He fell backward (Yes Itachi is human too you know!) and landed with a dull _thwump _on the floor.

Sasuke straightened up from his awkward crouch, panting. Blood splattered on the ground from a gash on his cheek and bruises spotted his arms and legs. He winced as he took a deep breath and his ribs seared. He probably had a few fractures.

Itachi made to get up, but Sasuke punched him back down with all the strength he possessed. He kicked; punched, scratched, smacked, and even bit until he was sure Itachi was out cold. That would give him some time to get some energy back at the very least.

Limping over to his teammates took a lot more effort than he thought it would. He fumbled with the chains for a while before he finally got the sense to cut through them with a katana.

Naruto landed swiftly on his feet, only wincing slightly. Kakashi flopped lifelessly to the ground, still unconscious. Sakura wobbled dangerously as her feet met solid earth. Sasuke reached out to steady her and she fell into his chest. He grimaced in pain, but didn't drop her. She pushed away from him and balanced herself on a nearby wall.

"Are you all right," the words slipped out of her mouth along with dark red blood. She didn't appear to notice this, but was scrutinizing Sasuke with great concern.

He shrugged off her question, but cringed as it sent a spark of pain to his dislocated shoulder. Sakura smiled faintly and reached out. She sank to the ground, pulling him with her. Blue Chakra glowed in her hand as she ran it down Sasuke's shoulder, torso, and arms.

"Sorry I can't do anything about your leg," she apologized, guiltily. "Tsunade-sama specifically told me not to heal it at any time. Part of your punishment I suppose."

"Hn," Sasuke snapped. "You should be more worried about yourself."

"You're right; I guess I was just to weak to protect myself," Sakura said coldly, lifting up Sasuke's shirt slightly so she could have a better shot at healing his fractured ribs.

"Sakura, you know I-" Sasuke began, but Sakura cut in.  
"I know Sasuke-kun," She smiled as she brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "It's ok. I know I can never measure up to you or Naruto and I'm ok with that."

"Sakura, stop," Sasuke pushed her hand away. "I don't need this; you do." (Shock! When did Sasuke get so nice?)

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura put her fingers on his lips to silence him. " You don't need to be strong all the time, ok? It's all right to accept help every now and then. I wish you could just let me care for you."

A/N- mushy at the end I know. I made this chapter extra long to make up for the long time in between chapter 14 and this one. Hope it was worth the wait!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Sakura finished healing Sasuke within the next five minutes. Silence dominated the room. Sakura refused to look at anything, but the ground. Sasuke finally cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Alright," He said, getting to his feet. "You guys need to get out of here and back to Konoha. Itachi will only be out for a little while longer so try to pay attention to what I'm saying. Once you get out of here it's a straight shot through the forest to Konoha. But you might want to find a cave or something to rest in and maybe tend to some of your injuries. Oh and make sure Kakashi is still alive."

Naruto looked at him curiously. "What about you, Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke turned away. He stared at Itachi's motionless body for a second, rage slowly filling him once again. "I have to finish him," he growled. (Uh-oh, here comes his "I am an avenger" speech) "I am an avenger. I trained with Orochimaru just for this moment. I'll catch up with you guys later. When he's dead." He twisted around to stare at Naruto and Sakura.

Sakura glared intently at him and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could do so, a long sword came speeding at her from out of nowhere.

Scarcely even moving, she conjured a wall of Chakra to protect her. The sword was persistent. It broke through the wall, but Sakura jumped to one side and grabbed a kunai out of Sasuke's weapon pouch, deflecting the sword with a flick of her wrist.

Sasuke gaped at her. She smirked back. The sword shifted position and stabbed her in the back.

She froze, the smirk fading from her face and keeled over sideways. Sasuke was at her side in an instant. The color of her tank top was darkening as vile red liquid seeped through the fabric. It gurgled out of the corners of her mouth as she made an effort to speak. "Behind…. you."

Sasuke whirled around. Itachi was on his feet, Chakra strings stretching from his fingertips to the sword still jammed into Sakura's back. He wore a calm expression that pissed Sasuke off more than words could say.

"Foolish little brother," He declared. "You are weak minded to think you could break our little deal."

Sasukes' fists clenched. He tensioned as Itachi passed him to enter the secret room where his former teammates resided.

Naruto jumped in front of Sakura to shield her from the elder Uchiha. Sakura herself was trying and failing to pull the sword out of her back. Kakashi lay on the ground wilted as ever.

"Get away you sick bastard," Naruto yelled as he was forcefully shoved aside. Itachi turned his murderous scarlet eyes on him.

"Naruto close your eyes!" Sasuke shouted, turning around so that he was facing him.

Naruto did as he was told. Itachi landed a blow on his head, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. He attempted feebly to get up before falling cataleptic onto the hard, cold ground. Itachi hauled him up and re-chained him. Sakura glared at him and began yelling incoherent words in his direction. Itachi kicked her brutally and she too plunged into unconsciousness.

"Looks like I don't need to chain her back up," Itachi sneered. He stepped on Sakura's arm until a loud resounding crack was heard. Sakura's brows knit together and her teeth gritted together in pain.

At the sound Sasuke snapped. Bellowing at the top of his lungs, he charged in Itachi's general direction. His brother moved slightly and deflected his attack as though swatting away a fly. Sasuke skidded to a stop in front of a wall, that he would have crashed into had he not had good reflexes.

"You have gotten sloppy," Itachi said. "And hasty. A fatal combination in a fight against someone from Akatsuki."

Sasuke growled from the back of his throat. Sakura's voice flashed suddenly through his mind.

_Concentrate Sasuke-kun; don't let him trick you, _she said.

**_What the hell? How did you…? _ **Sasuke thought wildly.

_I was worried about you, so I established a mind connection with a jutsu that Tsunade-sama taught me. It's a type of genjutsu you can use on an enemy to trick them, but I'm using it to help you. _

_**So how does that work? I mean I thought you were unconscious. **_

_I'll explain it to you some other time. Look out! _

Sasuke narrowly avoided a blow Itachi was aiming at his forehead.

_I thought I told you to concentrate. _

_**You're the one distracting me!**_

_I'm only trying to help. _

_**Well you're going to get me killed!**_

_Gomen _

_**Why are you doing this anyway?**_

_Because I care about you. You may not know this but you're the one who's been haunting my thoughts and dreams ever since you left Konoha. I think about you all the time. Sasuke-kun, don't you get it? I love you. _

**A/N- Soooooo sorry for the long wait, but I'm really lazy when it comes to typing. A little bit of a twist at the end. That wasn't originally in the story, but I added it to help Sasuke grow a brain and notice Sakura's feelings. Seriously though, _Naruto _even has a girlfriend! **

**Anyway, enough teasing Sasuke. What do you think of the chapter???? **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter seventeen**

Sasuke stopped short at Sakura's words.

**_Y…you what?_**

_I'll elaborate later. You need to keep your head in the fight. _

As if on cue, Itachi smacked Sasuke over the head with enough force to drive him into a grimy wall on the opposite side of the room. Sasuke clenched his teeth painfully and growled from the back of his throat. His temper was beginning to get the better of him. He felt his neck burn and prepared to use the curse mark.

_Sasuke-kun if you use that mark the connection between us will be broken. Orochimaru's jutsu is stronger than Tsunade's, so be careful! _Sakura seemed to have read Sasuke's mind. He cursed.

_**Gee, it's nice of you to tell me that now. **_

_Watch out! _

Itachi came up behind Sasuke and slammed him back into the wall. Sasuke yelled out in anger and his willpower snapped. His neck seared in agony as the curse mark played across his skin. Power radiated through him ad he grasped onto that, taking the curse to level two. His brother stepped back a little and smirked.

"Finally," he breathed. "Some real power."

A distant high-pitched voice in the back of Sasuke's head cried, "Sasuke-kun!" but Sasuke didn't think anything of it. He also didn't notice that, from across the room, Sakura's breathing became more labored and her skin was rapidly draining of color.

"You can't win," Sasuke was overconfident now. "No one in the last five years has been able to see me in this form and still live. _No one._"

Itachi said nothing. In fact, now that it was silent, Sasuke noticed dimly that Sakura had regained consciousness and was kneeling doubled over. Blood was leaking out of her mouth, but she was still making an effort to get to her feet and help.

"You stay out of this!" Sasuke yelled, without taking his eyes off Itachi. "You'll only get in the way!"

"Maybe…" Sakura murmured. "But I…don't…want…you to…get hurt."

Sasuke exploded. "_YOU ARE SO STUPID!_" he screamed. "_YOU'RE ON THE VERGE OF DEATH AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS ME! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO ALWAYS BE THERE! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO CARE SO MUCH! I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO LOVE ME! EVERY SECOND I SPEND WITH YOU DRIVES ME INSANE. I DON'T NEED YOU! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME? WHY DON'T YOU SPEND YOUR TIME WORRYING ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE?! LIKE NARUTO OR KAKASHI OR THOSE PEOPLE WHO CARE? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BOTHER WITH ME? YOU KNOW I'LL NEVER CHANGE MY MIND. SAKURA, GET THIS THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL, I. DON'T. NEED. YOU.!" _

Sakura didn't cry. She didn't plead or scream or tell him he was wrong. She just looked at him through the one eye she could open and smiled. "I know," she said. "And don't you think it's a little hard for me too? I want to care for people besides you and I do, but you're a little different. I can't just tell my heart to stop loving you. It doesn't work that way. We can't choose who we love. And even if you go on hating me for the rest of you life I will still love you, still fuss over you, still worry about you when I can't see you. Sasuke-kun there will never be anyone else but you. Always just you. I don't care if you hate me."

Tears poured down her face now, the smile gone. Her heart, in spite of what she said, was breaking. The wound in her back gave a throb and she winced, more blood dribbling out of her mouth. She reached up and pressed hard on the pressure point in her neck, knocking herself out and relieving the pain.

Sasuke let out another scream of frustrated fury. He conjured up a Chidori in both palms and for a moment it seemed he was going to attack her. But he turned to Itachi instead. "This is all your fucking fault!" He yelled, charging. "You that day…you cut off all my emotions! And now I'm hurting people without even meaning to! I HATE YOU!"

Itachi didn't try to move out of the way. Either Sasuke's actions or words, he was not sure, but one of those had him paralyzed. He saw a blinding flash of crackling Chakra and assumed it was his end. But maybe that's what he'd wanted all along.

**A/N- I know…I know…I haven't updated since Feb, but school is so evil!!!! Anyway now that it's spring break I have more time to type and think of ideas and such. Sasuke's a bastard in this chapter, but most boys are. LOL **** just kidding. R-E-V-I-E-W! That button's calling to you… **


	18. Chapter 18

A sudden fear rose within Itachi. He didn't know what it was, where it had come from, or even how it had come to be. All he knew was _he didn't want to die._

It was too late to block the attack completely, so he shoved both of his arms in front of him, preventing fatal injuries. Sasuke screamed with rage. He didn't care anymore. _Let them die,_ he thought, insanely. _Let them all jut die. You're the only one worthy enough to live. You know it's true._

"You can't use any jutsus now," Sasuke sneered at Itachi. "Both of your arms are shattered. You'll be lucky if you can ever use them again. Of course you won't get that chance. I will kill you."

"You're so weak I can beat you without my jutsus," Itachi snapped back. "And if you really meant to kill me then how come I'm still here _alive_ in front of you."

"With the curse mark," Sasuke began. "No one can stand in my way."

"So I've heard," Itachi drawled. "But is this the way you really want to become?"

"I don't think you're really in a position to be asking the questions here," Sasuke spat.

"I am ashamed to admit that you are an Uchiha," Itachi said, still in that calm monotone that masked his true emotions. "To resort to such sinister ways."

"Like you're one to talk," Sasuke muttered. The affects of the curse mark were beginning to catch up with him. He was feeling light headed and very much like he should be lying down instead of trying to fight. But, being the stubborn jackass he was, he refused to call it quits just yet. He charged at Itachi for what he hoped was the last time, but luck was not on his side and he found himself underneath his brother's butt in a matter of seconds.

"There is something you need to know Sasuke," Itachi announced. "It is my only hope that you will try to understand."

"Let go of me you bastard!" Sasuke yelled.

"No," Itachi said simply. "Not until I'm through saying what I need to say."

"Say it then," Sasuke snapped through clenched teeth. The curse mark slowly swirled down into the original mark on the back of his neck.

"Life is for living," Itachi replied. "Not for wasting on goals you know you have no chance of accomplishing. So isn't about time you got a life?" (A/N-BURN!)

"That's it!" Sasuke threw his brother off him and began beating him senseless. Itachi, unable to use his arms, wasn't holding up quite as well as before. "MY WHOLE LIFE I'VE HATED YOU! –Punch- EVEN BEFORE YOU KILLED THE CLAN! YOU WERE ALWAYS THE WALL THAT STOOD IN MY WAY AND I HATED THAT! -Kick- YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT ME, OR MOTHER, OR FATHER OR EVEN SHISUI WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND! -Slam into wall- I NEVER UNDERSTOOD YOU…I never…never…"

And suddenly Sasuke was on the ground, tears and blood alike running down his face. He tried to get back up, but fell, coughing, back onto the cruel unforgiving ground.

Itachi stood above him, blood dripping off the ends of his sleeves, and stared into his eyes.

"You are weak," he stated blankly. "What a disappointment."

"Kill me," Sasuke rasped. "If I am weak I have no right to live."

But Itachi couldn't consent to his wish, because Uchiha Sasuke was already dead. And he had been for a very long time.

**A/N- I feel so guilty that it took me this long to put up a chapter and it wasn't even that long! Die self-die! I am a shame to FF. I don't even have a good excuse…besides writer's block…anyway I'll try to get the next chpt up in the week…or month…school's almost out YAY! Ahem…random **


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter nineteen- **

Sakura saw Sasuke crumple and go limp in his brother's arms. Having just woken up from her comatose stupor (AN just can't seem to stay unconscious huh?), Sakura watched Itachi dump Sasuke on the ground through watery half closed eyes. Seeing Sasuke laid flat out on the ground, she realized his chest wasn't moving up and down like it should have been and when she really squinted she noticed his eyes were staring at the ceiling with a blank, frozen expression.

_I…Is he dead? _She wondered.

**_Of course not! _**Inner Sakura countered. **_Sasuke-kun wouldn't fall so easily! _**

_What do you mean easily? _Sakura snapped angrily. _They've been at it for almost five hours!_

**_So what? _**Inner Sakura seemed unconcerned. **_He's fought longer than that before. _**

****Sakura wasn't convinced. The time she had spent unconscious had replenished her Chakra slightly and she was able to heal herself enough to get to her knees and crawl over to Sasuke. She paid no attention to Itachi, but it didn't matter because Itachi didn't give the impression that he was able to move.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered, reaching out to touch his cold, blood soaked flesh. She couldn't grasp the reason he had been put into this state. She had healed his worst injuries. He had no cause to be dead.

As her hand reached to caress his face, Sasuke blinked and turned his head ever so slightly to gaze into her eyes. "Sakura," he murmured. "I almost killed my brother. I almost killed him. I could have killed him. I had the power to kill him. I don't want to kill him. I have to kill him. What am I Sakura?"

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. "Did you ever want to kill him?" She asked, ignoring his last question.

"Yes in the beginning," As Sasuke's voice got a little stronger his chest began moving again. His breath was ragged at first but soon steadied into a normal flow. "I have never felt so much…hatred in my life than I did then. But after a while it became more of an obligation. Then I started asking myself questions like, "Will I become like him if I choose this path?" Or "Would mother and father really want this?"

I almost backed out altogether when became part of squad seven and life finally started to look up a little. But there were constant reminders everywhere; the only way I kept myself motivated was the thought of his voice and what he would say if I didn't come after him. The reason I went to Orochimaru was to convince him and myself that I was really determined. It worked at first, but that snake freak wouldn't let me alone for five seconds. It was almost like having an extra persistent shadow. "Sasuke-kun this" and "Sasuke-kun that" he sounded like a fan girl." -Sakura blushed here- " So finally I left. I had no intention of going after Itachi, but after he took you and Naruto and Kakashi I felt it was my responsibility to get you back."

Sasuke was growing hoarse. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks but he seemed happy somehow in a weird Sasuke-like way.

"Sakura, I told you that you didn't understand my burden," he continued. "But what I didn't realize is that you had one of your own. Love is painful isn't it? I wish could give you what you deserve Sakura. I wish you could have seen the other side of me. I'm sorry I never showed you."

"What do you mean "could have"?" Sakura asked. "There's still time. Forget Itachi (Itachi- Ahem right here!). Come back to Konoha where you belong. You will be forgiven. If not by the villagers than at least by your friends who really matter! Sasuke-kun you can have a second chance."

"There's something I need you to do for me," Sasuke muttered as if Sakura hadn't spoken. "Seal it. Seal the curse mark. Please."

The curse mark was starting to smoke as he spoke. It was burning at his flesh slowly, trying to eat it away to the bone. If it wasn't sealed or gotten rid of soon there would be some major problems.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed. "What's happening?"

"Orochimaru didn't get what he wanted," Sasuke said simply. "And now I must be punished. Seal the curse mark. I don't want to be connected to him anymore."

"But I don't know how," Sakura was alarmed at the rate the curse mark was doing its damage; Sasuke's bone was exposed.

"You don't have to know," Sasuke was having difficulty speaking through the pain. "Just go on…instinct."

"What instinct?" Sakura's panicking was making the situation much worse than it needed to be.

"Just wing it!" Sasuke cried in frustration. He was writhing in agony but still his companion did nothing.

"I…I can't!" Sakura cried back.

"Sakura you can!" Sasuke yelled. "And you have to! Orochimaru will take full control of this body if you don't! That's his way of things! If anyone can stop that it's you! Sakura I know you can do this! I love you!"

**A/N- AHHHHH I'm falling victim to sappy-ness. I know ever1 was really occ in this chapter and I apologize for that. I did it this way because I want Sasuke to realize that he loves Sakura and all that good stuff so yea. **

**Sasuke-Who said I loved Sakura? **

**Sandgirl- um…you did. **

**Sasuke-but you made me! **

**Sandgirl- well that's just my way of things…telling the truth has always been in my nature. **

**Sasuke- that's not the truth! Girls have cooties! **

**Sakura-SASUKE-KUN!**

**Sasuke-save me. **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter twenty

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune came hurtling into the room at top speed only twenty minutes or so after she had left. Her hair was messy and her eyes were ten times wider than normal. As she rushed into the room, she didn't bother closing the door and had circled the place once before she was able to stop herself.

"Good god Shizune what's the matter?" Tsunade said in alarm, turning from the window to face her panicking apprentice.

"Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto were found at the village gates!" Shizune cried, close to hyperventilation. Her voice was high pitched from panic and it hurt a little to listen. "Naruto-kun sustained only minor injuries but Kakashi is in critical condition. We need you at the hospital right away!"

"What of Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke?" Tsunade demanded, getting to her feet and following Shizune out the door. Healing Kakashi would probably be no problem, so her main concern was the missing members of team seven.

"No sign of either," Shizune called back to her, now several paces ahead. "Though we suspect that Naruto-kun will be up soon. He'll know something I'm sure."

Well that helped ease her discomfort a few notches, but Naruto was a bit oblivious at times; she wasn't sure he could be trusted to recall the exact details of the past few days.

As they were leaving Hokage tower, Ebisu crashed into them. He appeared as distressed as Shizune. The force of running into the two women exiting the hokage building knocked him backwards, but he was back up in a second. Tsunade swore under her breath before he even started speaking. _Don't tell me there's another problem, _she groaned mentally.

"Tsunade-sama!" he yelled, in a similar manner as Shizune. _Damn it!_ Despite the grave situation, Tsunade couldn't help but wish people would stop shouting at her whenever there was a crisis. It was giving her a headache and her ears would most likely give out before she wanted them to because of the noise.

"Can this wait Ebisu?" Tsunade sighed, exasperatedly. "I've got some major problems waiting for me at the hospital and I haven't the time to help you with another of your stupid pr-"

"It's serious!" Ebisu interrupted. "Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura have been located! One of the guards to the village gate saw them in a forest not far from their posts. You have to come immediately!"

"What?" Tsunade roared caught off guard. "What condition are they in?"

"Can't say," Ebisu panted. "I couldn't see the Haruno girl, but the Uchiha seemed fine. His leg was twisted out of its normal position, but other than that..."

"That sounds about right," Tsunade muttered. "Shizune can I trust you to keep Kakashi alive until I can get Uchiha and Sakura to the hospital?"

Shizune looked hesitant. "I don't know," she muttered. "He's showing signs of entering the first stage of a coma. It's not really a question of keeping him alive; it's more keeping him from turning into a vegetable. If he gets anywhere near a full blown coma…" she let her sentence trail off dramatically, not able to bear saying the outcome of Kakashi entering a coma.

Tsunade put her hand on Shizune's shoulder. "Shizune," she stated firmly. "You are my apprentice. I trust that you can handle this. Besides I won't be long. How long does it take to arrest a man and get Sakura to the hospital if she needs it?" She actually had no idea if Shizune could handle the given situation, but the only was to find out if her student was alive unfortunately included lying.

"That's-"

"Good I knew I was right in training you," Tsunade removed her hand and commanded Ebisu to take her to where Sakura and Sasuke were, leaving Shizune to stare gaping after her.

Tsunade couldn't tell emotion from emotion as they raced across her mind each one faster and harder to read than the previous. Fear was an obvious one, directed mostly at Sakura. Anger might have been in there somewhere, in between apprehension and a strange sense of relief. Sakura just had to be all right. She was a med Nin for crying out loud!

Pushing those thoughts and emotions aside, there was always the matter of Sasuke. The punishment Tsunade had in mind would most likely break Sakura's heart. But what else could she do? The man was an S-rank criminal and a threat to the village. If she let him a live and he decided to betray the village again the consequences could be horrible and as hokage she couldn't risk endangering the village. Execution was the only way.

But Sakura…her heart was already in fragile condition from all the times Sasuke had stomped on it, before and after he left the village. She didn't deserve anymore that was for certain. Sakura was strong and had bounced back every such time Sasuke had turned tossed away her heart with his cold hands. She was resilient and didn't take crap from anyone except Sasuke, but Tsunade couldn't help but wonder how many times she would bounce back. When would she break and fall down at the mercy of heartbreak? There was a limit for everyone and Tsunade feared that Sakura was almost at hers. One more little bump and she could go over the edge.

Then again, Tsunade didn't even know if she was alive. Relief had flooded through her when she learned that her student and Sasuke had been found, but now she was worried. If Sasuke died or did anything that would hurt Sakura, Tsunade had no idea what to expect. If Sakura was dead, well someone was going to pay big time.

"We're almost there Tsunade-sama," Ebisu called from ahead of her. They sped through the gates to Konoha and into the forest on the right side of it. Tree after tree whizzed by and Tsunade was distracted from her fear and worry by a new emotion; annoyance at the forest for playing host to so many damn trees!

"Right over here," Ebisu stopped running and Tsunade followed his example. They walked quietly around a huge oak tree and found two figures leaning up against the other side.

Sasuke appeared to be asleep; his eyes closed in a tranquil way making him seem vulnerable and innocent. His broken leg was sprawled out on the ground while his other one was tucked neatly underneath him. Leaning against his chest coating his shirt in a silky pink covering was Sakura who also seemed to be asleep. Her red tank top was torn to shreds and her tan skirt was no where to be seen. Blood was splattered on her unusually pale skin, drying but still wet enough to glisten when the sun hit it right. In spite of all this there was not a scratch on her that either adult shinobi could see.

Tsunade bent down to get a better look at Sakura, pulling her away from Sasuke's muscular arms that were holding her tight enough to crush her. They fell limp as soon as Sakura had been lifted out of them.

Tsunade searched her student's face hungrily, taking in every detail that she had missed in her short absence. Her beautiful pink hair shortened by five or six inches, but messy as ever, her unusually pale skin, so pale it made her hair brighter then usual, and her closed green eyes, soon to open.

There was a sharp intake of breath above her from Ebisu who had finished examining Sasuke and had now turned his attention to Sakura. His mouth was agape and his eyes bulging behind his sun glasses. For a moment he just opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, but finally found his voice and choked out theses two words.

"Sh-she's dead!"

The trees had never looked so taunting.

**A/N: ok, before you start throwing things at me I would like to announce that THIS STORY IS NOT OVER YET!!!!!! I repeat THIS STORY IS NOT OVER YET!!!! The original story is longer than this and even with the alterations I plan to make, it will still take several more chapters, therefore I will be writing a sequel to explain what happened with Sasuke and his curse mark issue. Sheesh, are you all happy now? And please NO FLAMES! This is my first story and I would appreciate it if you all would keep it to constructive criticism or normal reviews. If you have something rude to say, KEEP IT TO YOUR SELF! Thanx **


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